Hooker went down to knee and appeared to try to avoid a direct hit with Texans receiver DeAndre Carter, who was diving for a ball at the goal line. Carter suffered a concussion on the play.

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The Dallas Cowboys come to Indy on a 5-game win streak. Insiders Zak Keefer and Joel Erickson discuss what the Colts are up against.
Clark Wade, Clark.Wade@Indystar.com

According to NFL rules, a defenseless receiver is defined as "a receiver attempting to catch a pass who has not had time to clearly become a runner,” but the Colts coaching staff disagreed that Hooker and Adams committed a penalty, given that they were trying to make a play on the ball.

“The ball is there, he is there and the man is there,” defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said. “The guy is catching the ball in flight. He’s in the air. So Malik was just going for the ball and the way it came out is the way it came out. So I thought it was a really good play by him.”

For Adams, it’s his second fine in as many weeks. Adams was also fined $26,739 for helmet-to-helmet contact with Jaguars quarterback Cody Kessler, who appeared to duck into the blow, the week before.

“Some of those things you just have to go through and learn trial by error,” Colts coach Frank Reich said. “Seeing how your body reacts and how you respond and how you need to change how you respond in some of those moments.”